Department for Transport

Marylebone Station

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to phase out the use of diesel trains on the lines running in and out of Marylebone station; and what steps they are taking to protect (1) staff, and (2) passengers, at that station from the impact of harmful emissions.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We are currently in negotiations for a new National Rail Contract on the Chiltern route which, if successful, will include plans for improving the environmental impact of stations and trains, including at Marylebone station. A hybrid trial is currently underway to determine whether this is a feasible option for more environmentally friendly rolling stock on this route. Additionally, we are exploring options for procuring greener rolling stock on the route, and the environmental impact is an important factor in this process.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Euston Station

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 4 November (HL3335), how many trains per hour are planned from Euston to operate on HS2 Phase (1) 1, (2) 2a, and (3) 2b east.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: No decisions have yet been taken on the train services that will operate after HS2 services start running. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from West Coast Partnership Development and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.

Euston Station

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 4 November (HL3335), what are the reasons for the reduction in the number of HS2 platforms at Euston Station from 11 to 10.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: As stated in the latest HS2 six-monthly report to Parliament published on 20 October 2021, in response to a recommendation from the Oakervee Review about looking into the efficiency of the Euston station, the move to a smaller, simpler 10-platform station design at Euston will provide a more efficient design and delivery strategy, and play a significant role in mitigating the affordability pressures recently identified.

Electric Scooters: Batteries

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports of battery fires affecting e-scooters being carried on trains, what plans they have to review the safety impact of taking e-scooters on (1) trains, and (2) buses; and what steps they are taking to issue safety advice to transport providers.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. Rental operators do not permit their e-scooters to be carried on public transport. While trials are running, privately-owned e-scooters will remain illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements. They can be used on private property, with the landowner’s permission. It is for public transport operators to determine their own terms and conditions of carriage.

Electric Scooters: Accidents

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to calculate the casualty rates per mile travelled for e-scooters; and what assessment they have made of the casualty rates involving e-scooters.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts, and has in place a monitoring and evaluation programme. The Department is collecting evidence on rental e-scooter casualties (including frequency and injury severity) through its national evaluation, and will be disclosing preliminary findings in its interim report, to be published in winter 2021. A full set of safety findings on rental e-scooters from our national evaluation, will be included in our final report, due in spring 2022. Outside of the trials, e-scooters remain illegal to use, unless ridden on private land with the permission of the landowner. However, incidents involving them will be captured more widely in road safety statistics, which are reported on a calendar year basis. The latest annual published statistics are for 2020. Data on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2021, will be published in 2022. More information on e-scooter road accidents can be found in the Reported road casualties Great Britain: e-Scooter factsheet 2020.

Holyhead Port

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of Brexit on the port of Holyhead.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Freight flows through Holyhead have increased substantially over this year. Transport patterns and freight pressures have seen unprecedented changes throughout the pandemic due to restrictions, variations to travel plans, and fluctuations in freight demand.

Travel: Concessions

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend off-peak travel on Fridays to encourage leisure travel.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We are working with the rail industry to develop a number of recovery initiatives, focused on restoring passenger confidence in travelling by rail.

Railways: Freight

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in the last six months to make it easier for railways to replace trips made by Heavy Goods Vehicles.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Government remains committed to unlocking the benefits rail freight can deliver, including its role in supporting resilient supply chains. Working alongside Network Rail (NR) and Freight Operating Companies (FOCs), we have taken several urgent steps to increase rail freight capacity to help reduce pressure on HGV driver shortages over the last six months. NR has recently increased the number of train paths available from Felixstowe Port by addressing level crossing risks and made additional paths available from Liverpool Port and London Gateway. NR and FOCs are currently running longer and heavier freight trains, and we are exploring with them whether there is scope to increase this to ensure that capacity is maximised, as well as increase the flow of rail freight on key routes from major ports. Work remains ongoing to secure further opportunities for this. Furthermore, the £8.3 million upgrade of the ‘Bootle Branch’ railway line serving the Port of Liverpool was completed in September 2021. The 400-metre section of track will allow for an increase from one, to two trains, per hour in each direction.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Iron and Steel

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what tendering process was followed when steel work for the HS2 Little Missenden ventilation shaft was ordered from Sendin; and whether that company was UK-certified.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The steel referenced was procured by Align JV, HS2 Ltd.’s contractor, when the original UK-based supplier was unable to provide the material required in the agreed timescales, with the potential to incur delays and higher costs on the project. All suitable alternative UK suppliers were approached, but none could provide the necessary product in time. The French fabricator, Sendin, who provided this steel is an internationally renowned supplier in this market with the steel provided meeting all relevant UK standards. Their timely response allowed the project to stay on schedule. HS2 Ltd.’s supply chain already includes over 2,000 businesses – 97% of which are UK-based. HS2 Ltd. has adopted a number of initiatives in line with the UK Steel Charter, and both HS2 Ltd. and my department are committed to working across Government and with the UK steel industry to ensure it is engaged, informed and prepared to seize the contract opportunities that will be generated by the construction of HS2.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Sizewell C Power Station: Roads

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) adequacy, and (2) capacity, of roads around Sizewell C during construction.

Lord Callanan: The examination of the application for development consent for the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station closed on 14 October 2021 and the Examining Authority is now writing its report which will set out its conclusions and recommendations on the proposals. The Secretary of State is due to receive the Examining Authority’s report by 14 January 2022. Given the quasi-judicial role of the Secretary of State in determining the application, I cannot comment on specific matters regarding the proposed project, as this could be seen as prejudicing the decision-making process. As is the case for all applications for development consent, the Secretary of State will consider all matters that are relevant when taking his decision on the project.

Natural Gas: Russia

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan (HL2999) on 26 October, what discussions they have had, if any, with the government of Russia concerning gas supplies.

Lord Callanan: The UK benefits from diverse sources of gas supply, including domestic production, pipeline imports from reliable suppliers like Norway, and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). BEIS has held no discussions with Russia on gas.

Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care: HeadUp

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any person associated with HeadUp Systems, or acting on their behalf, has met a (1) minister, or (2) official in the Department for Health and Social Care in the last 12 months; and if so, who; on what date; and what was the purpose of the meeting.

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what services HeadUp Systems provided to the Health Incentives Scheme before 22 October; when they started providing such services; whether those services were paid for by the Government; and if so, how much was paid for those services.

Lord Kamall: HeadUp Systems has not provided any services to the health incentives scheme prior to their appointment as the successful supplier of the pilot programme in October 2021. There have been no direct meetings between HeadUp Systems’ representatives and Departmental Ministers or officials in the last 12 months.

Health Incentives Scheme: Data Protection

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government which private sector organisations will have access to data collected by the Health Incentives Scheme; and for what specific purposes.

Lord Kamall: We have contracted HeadUp Systems limited to deliver the pilot. The Department is the Data Controller for the pilot. Data will be accessed by HeadUp Systems Limited, who, as the Data Processor, will collect data on the Department’s behalf for the purposes of delivering the Health Incentives pilot programme and by the Behavioural Insights Team for monitoring and evaluation of the pilot’s findings. All data will be collected, stored, shared and used in alignment with all applicable law regarding the processing of personal data, privacy, and security standards, including the United Kingdom Data Protection Act and UK General Data Protection Regulation.The type of data that will be collected is currently being finalised.Full data collection and processing requirements will be shared with potential pilot users as part of the sign-up process and consent to take part in the pilot is voluntary. HeadUp Systems will retain any data collected and/or processed for the purposes of the pilot programme for the duration of the contract and must destroy the data by the end of the contract.

Oral Tobacco

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the medical reasons for the ban of the smoking substitute snus.

Lord Kamall: Evidence shows that the consumption of any tobacco product is harmful and it is the Government’s policy to support people to quit all forms of tobacco use. Oral tobacco, or snus, is banned in the United Kingdom under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.The Impact assessment on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products stated that oral tobacco products contain carcinogenic substances which are associated with a number of adverse health effects. Snus can also contain carcinogenic tobacco specific nitrosamines and other carcinogenic substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which also have been associated with several adverse health effects. A copy of the impact assessment is attached.COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT (pdf, 2458.1KB)

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide clearer messaging on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women.

Lord Kamall: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has developed a range of advice including videos, digital products for social media and websites, paper leaflets and posters to support decision-making on COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy. The UK HSA continues to promote these resources to providers in all health settings. In addition, information leaflets on COVID-19 vaccination for women of childbearing age, including those currently pregnant or breastfeeding, are available online and in an easy-read version for people with a learning disability and their carers, British Sign Language videos and a Braille version. The leaflets and translations in 27 languages are available to order for free or download.NHS England has urged all healthcare professionals to raise awareness of the vaccine’s benefits among pregnant women, reassuring any concerns and encouraging women to come forward through maternity and primary care services. A toolkit has been launched to support these healthcare professionals with such conversations and includes key messages and facts about the vaccines and frequently asked questions.

Wales Office

EU Grants and Loans: Wales

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they will provide to the Welsh Government to replace the (1) European Regional Fund, (2) European Structural and Investment Fund, and (3) European Social Fund, for (a) 2022–23, (b) 2023–24, and (c) 2024–25.

Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will replace the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund. It will ramp up to £1.5 billion a year in 2024-25 as EU Structural Funds tail off and total funding will at a minimum match the size of EU Funds in all nations, each year. UKSPF funding in the next Spending Review period will total over £2.6 billion. The UKSPF is key to levelling up the whole of the UK. It will help people access opportunity in places in need, such as former-industrial areas, deprived towns, rural and coastal communities and for people in disadvantaged groups across the UK. Further details about the Fund will be set out later this year. In addition to the UKSPF, Wales will also receive £121 million from the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, £46 million from the UK Community Renewal Fund and £464,000 from the Community Ownership Fund. We are also providing the Welsh Government with an additional £2.5 billion per year on average through the Barnett formula, on top of its annual baseline funding of £15.9 billion. These are the largest annual block grants of any spending review settlement since devolution began.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe is released from detention in Iran.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Iran's decision to proceed with these baseless charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is an appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through. Instead of threatening to return Nazanin to prison Iran must release her permanently so she can return home. The Foreign Secretary discussed Nazanin's case with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on 22 September at the UN. The Foreign Secretary has also taken every opportunity to discuss the situation with other key players in the region and more widely and will continue to do so. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to Nazanin twice since taking up her role and met Nazanin's family most recently on 28 October to reiterate our commitment to securing her release. In addition, ministers hold regular meetings with officials to direct activity across the FCDO to secure her release. Our Ambassador in Tehran has regularly raised the cases of our detainees with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We will not stop working until those dual British nationals being arbitrarily detained by Iran are released.

Armed Conflict: Civilians

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 25 October (HL2994), whether the referred to “project on unarmed approaches” is the only such project that has received funding; how much funding this project received; where this project took place; and, if other such projects exist, (1) how much funding they have received, and (2) where they have taken place.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Unarmed approaches to the Protection of Civilians (POC) form an integral part of UN peacekeeping policy and practice on POC. The UK has provided £250,000 in FY 2021/22 to the UN Department of Peace Operations in support of this methodology which should apply to all peacekeeping missions with a POC mandate: MINUSMA (Mali), MONUSCO (Democratic Republic of Congo), MINUSCA, (Central African Republic), UNMISS (South Sudan) and UNIFIL (Lebanon). We do not fund other projects on unarmed approaches in UN peacekeeping missions.

Kyaw Min Yu

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the arrest of Kyaw Min Yu in Myanmar on 24 October, what steps, if any, they are taking to secure his (1) well-being, and (2) release.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are deeply concerned about the safety and wellbeing of U Kyaw Min Yu in Myanmar. Our Embassy in Myanmar has issued a strong statement condemning U Kyaw Min Yu's treatment at the hands of the military. The UK condemns the military coup in Myanmar and the arbitrary detention of civilians like U Kyaw Min Yu and also those of the civilian Government including, the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, civil society and foreign nationals. We have secured statements at both the UN Security Council and through the G7 condemning arbitrary detentions. We urge the military to exercise the utmost restraint and respect human rights and international law.

North Korea: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Korea Future InitiativePersecuting Faith: Documenting religious freedom violations in North Korea (Volume 2), published on 27 October, particularly the finding that 97 per cent of documented human rights violations were perpetrated by agents of the North Korean state; and what plans, if any, they have to raise the findings in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government notes the report by the Korea Future Initiative 'Persecuting Faith: Documenting religious freedom violations in North Korea (Volume 2)', published on 27 October. We will review the report's findings and recommendations in the context of our work to address the appalling human rights situation in the DPRK, including in multilateral fora. The international community has a responsibility to respond to human rights violations in North Korea. At the Human Rights Council in March 2021, the UK worked closely with partners to secure a strong and clear resolution on DPRK human rights, stressing the importance of following-up recommendations from the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry Report and providing the basis for further work on a credible framework for accountability for human rights violations in North Korea.

Myanmar: Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) human rights, and (2) humanitarian, situation in Myanmar.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is clear in its condemnation of the coup and the appalling violence by the military, which has left over 1000 people dead. In particular we condemn the troop build ups in North Western Myanmar and military violence against civilians, particularly religious minorities. We are deeply concerned at the on-going political, Covid and human rights crisis in Myanmar. The military continues to imprison opposition figures, journalists and foreign nationals and they have maintained their brutal crackdown on dissent. The UK is calling for a peaceful and inclusive resolution to the crisis, in line with the ASEAN Five Point Consensus.The humanitarian situation in Myanmar is extremely serious. Displacement and humanitarian needs are increasing, with insecurity and the military junta is blocking humanitarian access deliveries across the country. We are working through small scale local civil society organisations which are able to mobilise community support and reach places the UN and international humanitarian community cannot access. Through our humanitarian mechanism we provide the most vulnerable populations in Myanmar with access to essential services: water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, food, healthcare and shelter materials.

Afghanistan: Repatriation

Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prioritise the safe evacuation from Afghanistan ofjournalists (1) currently, and (2) formerly, employed by the BBC who are at risk as a result of their professional associations.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: It remains a top priority to help those British nationals and those Afghans eligible to come to the UK, to leave Afghanistan, including journalists. Since the end of the military evacuation, the Government has facilitated the departure of both Afghan and British nationals from Afghanistan. Although travel within Afghanistan remains dangerous, and many border crossings have been closed during this period, we have also helped both British nationals and eligible Afghans when they have crossed into third countries, from where our diplomatic missions have been able to support their onward travel to the UK. We will continue to work to take advantage of all opportunities to help those eligible to come to the UK to leave Afghanistan.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to influence children's healthy nutrition needs in the developing world at the United Nations for Growth Summit in Japan in December.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: FCDO is working closely with the Government of Japan to make sure the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit supports meaningful action by governments, donors, businesses, the UN and civil society.Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Government is actively considering its approach to the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit and will set this out as early as possible as part of the business planning process.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the total financial support which will be given to children's healthy nutrition programmes in the Official Development Assistance budget in (1) 2021, and (2) 2022.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Information about our nutrition spend in financial year 2021 and 2022 will be publicly available through Statistics for International Development (SIDS) in due course. Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Government is actively considering its approach to nutrition programming and will set this out as early as possible as part of the business planning process.Information about our nutrition spend in financial year 2021 and 2022 will be publicly available through Statistics for International Development (SIDS) in due course.

Developing Countries: Nutrition

Lord German: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to develop healthy nutrition for children in their global support programmes.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Government is actively considering nutrition programming within the business planning process. No decisions on individual programmes have yet been made.Tackling malnutrition remains a core focus of our work on global health, humanitarian response and in support of UK goals on girls' education and climate.  It is critical for reducing preventable deaths and ensuring children get the best start in life in the poorest countries of the world.

Indo-Pacific Region and Sub-Saharan Africa: Land Mines

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in Official Development Assistance funding for mine clearing on livelihoods and wellbeing in (1) Sub-Saharan Africa, and (2) the Indo-Pacific region.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Global Mine Action Programme 3 (GMAP3), due to begin in 2022, will involve landmine clearance and risk education to help affected communities keep safe, and capacity development for national authorities to help them manage their landmine contamination. We are working towards finalising funding and country allocation for GMAP3, as part of a broader effort to prioritise our aid to be more strategic and remain a force for good across the world.

Ministry of Defence

Territorial Army: Jersey

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times (1) personnel, and (2) equipment, of the Jersey Territorial Army have been mobilised in support of UK military operations since 1991.

Baroness Goldie: Since 1991 Jersey Field Squadron RE (M) have been mobilised eleven* times in support of UK military operations. All these mobilisations involved both personnel and equipment. As Jersey's contribution to the UK Defence, the Field Squadron deploys trained reservists to support the Regular Army both on exercises and operations in UK and overseas and have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as well as supporting Defence’s contribution to the cross Government operations during the COVID 19 pandemic. *This figure has been drawn from records held on computer systems that have been migrated over the time period, and therefore reflects the current data available.

Department for Work and Pensions

Inflation: State Retirement Pensions

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that inflation will reach 4 per cent this winter; and what assessment, if any, they made of such reports when deciding to increase the state pension by 3.1 per cent.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: We have introduced the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill into Parliament due to a statistical anomaly caused by the pandemic which has seen earnings growth surge to 8.3 per cent. This Bill temporarily amends the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and sets aside the earnings link for 2022/23. In its place, the Bill will require the Secretary of State to increase the relevant pensions and benefits by not less than the higher of inflation, which we now know is 3.1 per cent, or 2.5 per cent. The Bill covers the basic State Pension, the new State Pension, the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit, and survivors’ benefits in Industrial Death Benefit. When we introduced the Bill earnings indices were showing significant volatility and we needed to take clear and decisive action to address the exceptional growth in earnings, and to give clarity on what would happen in April of next year. That is why we placed a double lock on the face of the Bill. Last year we saw earnings fall by one percentage point. In response, we legislated to set aside the earnings link, allowing the Secretary of State to award an up-rating of 2.5 per cent as this was higher than inflation. If we had not done this, State Pension would have been frozen. This legislation plus last years ensures the value of the State Pension is more than maintained relative to prices over the two years of the pandemic. The Secretary of State is required to undertake an annual review of State benefits and pensions which needs to be completed by the end of November due to IT deadlines. There are also interdependencies with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Local Authorities which require the rates before Christmas. The new rates are then included in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order which is laid in Parliament in January and debated in both Houses before coming into force at the beginning of the new tax year. By convention under successive governments, in order to meet these timescales, the Secretary of State uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12 months to September, which is published by the Office for National Statistics in October. On average, September CPI is higher than the following April half the time, and it is lower half the time. Using actual inflation figures for the previous September ensures that over the medium term benefit rates will always match actual inflation trends. There is no risk that they will lose their value in real terms.

Education: Disability

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the education of disabled children will be tracked in the National Disability Strategy.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The government is committed to transforming the everyday lives of disabled people. We published the National Disability Strategy in July 2021 which sets out a wide ranging set of practical actions to improve the lives of disabled people, including in relation to education. In the strategy, the Department for Education committed to consulting on improvements to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system through the SEND Review. DfE recognises that the SEND system needs to improve, which is why the Review was established in September 2019, and the department will be bringing forward proposals for public consultation in the first quarter of 2022. DfE announced that high needs funding will increase by £780 million, or 9.6%, in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22. This is on top of the increase of more than £1.5 billion over the previous two years and will bring the total high needs budget to £8.9 billion, an increase of over a third since 2019-20. DfE is investing a further £300 million to create places for children with SEND, improve existing provision in schools and make accessibility adaptations in the financial year 2021 to 2022, while also providing over £42 million in 2021-22 to continue funding projects to support children with SEND. This investment will ensure that specialist organisations around the country can continue to help strengthen local area performance, support families and provide practical support to schools and colleges. At the request of the Prime Minister, a set of Ministerial Disability Champions were appointed in summer 2020, to drive the development and delivery of the National Disability Strategy. Now the strategy is published, the Minister for Disabled People chairs quarterly meetings of this group to sustain momentum and track progress against the over 100 commitments. The full list is set out on .GOV.UK, which includes Will Quince MP, the Department of Education Ministerial Disability Champion. The strategy committed to publishing an annual report in summer 2022, which will detail the progress made against all commitments, including those that relate to education.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Clean Air Zones

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they provide to enable local authorities to improve the quality of their air and reduce pollution through the introduction of Clean Air Zones.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Government has ring-fenced £880 million to help local authorities tackle NO2 exceedances through the development and implementation of local air quality plans and through funding to support those impacted most by these plans. Local authorities introducing a Clean Air Zone as part of a local air quality plan can bid for Clean Air Fund funding. The Clean Air Fund can support a range of measures such as vehicle upgrade grants to individuals and businesses along with bus retrofit schemes, improvements to bus fleets, installation of electric chargepoints, provision of park and ride services, concessionary travel schemes and freight consolidation centres.

Food: Climate Change

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of climate change on global food production, and (2) the potential for mass migration from areas where food supply has failed owing to climate change.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: 1) The Climate Change Committee's Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk (CRIA) offers a detailed and up to date insight into the growing risks and opportunities the UK faces from climate change. The report provides evidence for risks to UK food availability, safety, and quality from the impact of climate change on global food production and supply chains.The CRIA will inform our third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), due for publication in January 2022, which states our position relative to such advice and marks the formal end of the third CCRA cycle. This evidence will be indispensable in informing greater action and ambition in the third National Adaptation Programme (a five-yearly requirement under the UK Climate Change Act 2008), which will set out how the government will address climate risks.In the 2021 policy paper "Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy", the Government made tackling climate change and biodiversity loss its number one international priority.(2) The UK recognises the need to better understand the complex links between migration, climate change and environmental degradation to inform our policy and action. The Government has commissioned an assessment of existing evidence of how climate change impacts migration to support this dialogue.The UK is also supporting countries with adaptation and resilience planning through major international climate funds such as the Green Climate Fund and programme funding.[1]We are fulfilling our pledge to attain the goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction through our contributions to the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership. Through this, the UK is leading the way in scaling up early-warning systems to make 1 billion people safer from disaster by 2025.We have also supported the efforts for the establishment of a High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, which will look at climate change as a compounding factor contributing to internal displacement. The High-Level Panel submitted a report to the United Nations Secretary General in September with recommendations on how to resolve and prevent further displacement, including through adaption. [1] We also fund Climate Investment Funds and Global Environmental Facility.

Home Office

Domestic Abuse

Baroness Wilcox of Newport: To ask Her Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to raise awareness of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021; and what plans they have to work with the White Ribbon charity as part of that work.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The ground-breaking Domestic Abuse Act received Royal Assent in April of this year. The Act will provide further protection to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse, strengthens the measures to bring perpetrators to justice and transforms the support we give to victims ensuring they have the protection they deserve.The Home Office has worked with the sector to keep them appraised of the implementation of the Act. The Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, published in July of this year and informed by the 180,000 responses we received to our Call for Evidence also makes a commitment to a national communications campaign. We are also publishing a Domestic Abuse Strategy this year, to complement the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.The Home Office is continually working across government to champion and coordinate with the charity sector on such vital issues.

Travel: Monitoring

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to begin recording details of all persons departing the UK; and when they intend to implement any such plans.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We re-introduced exit checks in April 2015 to further complement our work on border security, plus support the Home Office’s wider work to deal with illegal immigration.Passengers leaving the country on scheduled commercial air, sea and rail routes, on journeys outside the Common Travel Area, go through exit checks.

Ismail Abedi

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government why Ismail Abedi was not prevented from departing the UK prior to his scheduled appearance at the Manchester Arena Inquiry under a court order.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Manchester Arena Inquiry is a statutory independent Inquiry and decisions as to how to deliver its terms of reference are a matter for the Chair.The Inquiry heard evidence on what steps had been taken to ensure Ishmale Abedi appeared at the Inquiry on 21 October. The transcript for the hearing is published in full: https://files.manchesterarenainquiry.org.uk/live/uploads/2021/10/21201337/MAI-Day-165_Redacted.pdf

Terrorism: Islam

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made a recent assessment of the global threat of Islamist terrorism.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) is the UK’s independent centre for analysis and assessment of terrorism. JTAC keeps the UK national threat level under constant review. This is a systematic, comprehensive, and rigorous process, based on the very latest intelligence and analysis of internal and external factors which drive the threat, including international events.The UK national terrorism threat level remains at SUBSTANTIAL. This means that a terrorist attack is likely.

Immigration: Students

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who originally came to the UK on a study visa were later granted limited leave to remain in each of the past five years.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Such data is not currently held in a reportable way and to gather it could only be achieved at a disproportionate cost.

Missing Persons: Ethnic Groups

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to conduct a public inquiry into how the police deal with reports of missing Black people.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government is focused on improving the police response to missing people from all backgrounds and on addressing racial and ethnic disparities, wherever these exist, and has no plans for a public inquiry at this time.

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to remove the proposed restrictions on protests from the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental tool of civic expression and will not be curtailed by this Government.However, Recent events, including the ongoing protest action around the M25 and elsewhere, have shown how the actions of a selfish few can cause disproportionate amounts of disruption to regular hardworking people going about their daily lives..A recent report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Fire Services (HMICFRS) found that sometimes the balance between protesters’ rights and the rights of local residents and businesses tips too readily in favour of the protestors. These powers will ensure that an appropriate balance can be maintained.These new measures will balance the rights of protesters and the rights of others to go about their business unhindered by enabling the police to better manage highly disruptive protests.

Immigration: Students

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many peoplewho originally came to the UK on a study visa were granted settled status under the 10 year long-term residency rule in each of the past five years.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Such data is not currently held in a reportable way and to gather it could only be achieved at a disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the new graduate work route on the displacement of UK workers.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Our new Graduate route demonstrates our determination to attract the brightest and best talent from around the world to study and then work in the UK.A full economic impact assessment for the Graduate Route was published on 4 March 2021 and features a section on the expected labour market impact of the route. This can be found on the gov.uk website or through the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc-1248-4-march-2021

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Vacancies

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to add HGV drivers to the shortage occupation list to make it easier for skilled workers to obtain visas.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: For an occupation to be placed on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), it needs to be eligible under the Skilled Worker route of the Points Based System.The independent Migration Advisory Committee found the occupation of HGV driver did not meet the requirements under the Skilled Worker route to be eligible. We therefore will not be adding this occupation to the SOL.In response to the current exceptional circumstances, we have made provision for poultry workers, pork butchers and HGV drivers in food distribution to enter the UK on a short-term basis to support the food and haulage sectors. Yet long term solutions to recruitment issues relating to HGV drivers lie with employers in the sector, where investing in training and offering competitive terms and conditions should be the focus, rather than looking to immigration.

Asylum

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the backlog of asylum applications.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The asylum system has been under pressure for several years, but this has been exacerbated by the global pandemic. At the start of the COVID outbreak, whilst intake reduced, so did interview options and decision making capacity. We put in place recovery plans and continue to develop these in light of recent intake.The Home Office is pursuing a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives which will speed up decision making, reduce the time people spend in the system and reduce the numbers who are awaiting an interview or decision. This includes almost doubling decision makers number to c.1,000 and providing improved training and career progression opportunities to aid retention of staff. This investment in our people will speed up processing times and increase the throughput of asylum decisions.We are continuing to develop existing and new technology to help build on recent improvements such as digital interviewing and move away from a paper-based system. We are streamlining and digitalising the case working process to enable more effective workflow, appointment booking and decision-making.

Immigration: Social Services

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to create new flexible immigration routes in order to allow more people to work in the social care sector helping people wth disabilities.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The introduction of the Health and Care visa in August 2020 has made it quicker and cheaper for regulated health and care professionals, including Senior Care Workers, and their dependants to secure their visa.In July, the Government commissioned the MAC to review the impact of ending free movement on the social care sector. The MAC have issued a call for evidence with stakeholders and we look forward to receiving their report in April 2022.

Treasury

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the changes to alcohol duty announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 27 October, what the situation will be for wines which are laid down en primeur, prior to 31 March 2023.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The changes announced at the Budget will take effect on 1 February 2023. Any wine which is released for consumption after this date will incur the new duty rates, in the usual way.

Taxation: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the tax changes proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement on 27 October will apply to Northern Ireland.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: As set out in our Command Paper in July, we are seeking a more flexible settlement with regard to the Northern Ireland Protocol to ensure all of the UK can benefit from tax changes such as the alcohol duty reforms announced at Budget. The Government will continue to discuss the application of the alcohol duty reforms to Northern Ireland with the EU.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Rural Areas

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their broadband strategy includes ensuring that customers in rural areas have a choice of broadband providers that are not dependent on the BT network.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Government wants to encourage competition and investment in the UK broadband market, as we have set out in our Statement of Strategic Priorities to Ofcom. As a result, there are now over 80 providers delivering gigabit broadband in the UK, providing real choice to consumers at both the wholesale and retail level.Ofcom is responsible for regulating the level of competition in the market and has the power to intervene where necessary to reduce the barriers for entry to new providers. In the case of Openreach, Ofcom has designated that it holds Significant Market Power status, and has therefore introduced a number of remedies such as requiring Openreach to allow other providers to use its network of ducts and poles. These remedies are designed to enable competing providers to build their networks at a lower cost, which makes competition more likely.The Government is investing £5 billion in Project Gigabit to ensure hard-to-reach areas where providers are not expected to deploy broadband commercially are not left behind. There is already significant interest in Project Gigabit: for example, Gigabit Vouchers have been extremely successful with over 70 telecoms providers currently actively building in challenging rural areas. Moreover, procurements funded by Project Gigabit will require network infrastructure to be open and accessible to third parties, such as communication providers, to provide competing retail offers to the consumer.

Gambling: Social Media

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to either (1) restrict, or (2) ban, gambling advertising on social media.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Gambling operators advertising online, including through affiliates, must abide by the advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Gambling Commission may take enforcement action against them if they do not. The CAP consulted earlier this year on proposals to strengthen the codes and further limit the presence of gambling adverts for the protection of children and vulnerable people. Changes to safeguard vulnerable adults were announced this summer, and the full outcome is to be announced before the end of the year.Following work with the Gambling Commission, the industry has also committed to make better use of advertising technology to target adverts away from children on social media. The Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising now requires operators to ensure paid-for advertising is targeted only at those over 25 years old on social media and to age-gate operator YouTube channels and content.As part of our wide-ranging Review of the Gambling Act 2005, we called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing operators to advertise, including on social media. A White Paper will be published in due course. The Government is also looking more broadly at how online advertising is regulated through the Online Advertising Programme, which will be launching a public consultation this year. Our aim is to foster fair, accountable and ethical online advertising that works for individuals, businesses and society as a whole.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards providing superfast broadband to rural areas of (1) Gloucestershire, (2) Wiltshire, (3) Oxfordshire, and (4) Berkshire.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Government has made significant strides in helping to provide superfast broadband to people in rural areas. 97% of the UK now has access to at least 30 Mbps download speeds and this figure continues to rise. We are now investing £5 billion through Project Gigabit at the same time as commercial rollout so that rural communities are not left behind, prioritising areas with a relatively high proportion of premises without access to superfast speeds.In Gloucestershire, 96% of premises can access superfast broadband (> 30Mbps), compared with 89% in November 2019. Gloucestershire has also made good use of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which helps communities and businesses living in rural areas not in line for commercial rollout or Government-funded projects to get more immediate help with the costs of installing gigabit. They have had 322 vouchers connected so far, with a further 190 awaiting connection with a combined total of £1.2 million.In Oxfordshire, superfast is currently above the national average at 98%. The Better Broadband for Oxfordshire project, which ran from 2015 to 2018, helped to increase superfast coverage significantly during this period from 69% to 96%.Superfast coverage in Berkshire is also above the national average at 98%, compared with 97% in November 2019. There are currently two live superfast contracts across Berkshire, which have so far delivered to over 36,000 premises.In Wiltshire, 96% of premises can access superfast broadband, up from 94% in November 2019. One of two contracts delivering superfast broadband across Wiltshire has been completed, while the other has so far delivered to more than 2,000 premises. This brings the total number of premises delivered to over 77,000A total of 594 vouchers have been provided to connect rural premises in Wiltshire as part of the GBVS, with 240 vouchers awaiting connection for a total value of £1.6 million.

Music

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by UK Music, This is Music 2021, published on 20 October, which showed that live music revenues reduced by 90 per cent in 2020.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: We have noted the publication of UK Music’s ‘This Is Music’ report with interest, and the Secretary of State contributed the foreword to it. We have previously responded to a written Parliamentary Question regarding our response to the publication of this report (UIN HL3203).The Government notes the significant challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the music sector and the impact of the reduction in revenues that the report discusses. This is why our unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund has awarded funding to more than 800 music-based organisations, totalling over £200 million, including more than £21 million alone having been awarded to music festivals and £3.36 million to grassroots music venues.Many organisations in the music industry have also benefited from the significant cross-economy and sector-specific support the Government has made available throughout this pandemic, including the generous employment schemes, grants, loans, a reduction in VAT to 5%, and the extension of the moratorium on commercial evictions for business tenants. At the budget the Government also announced a temporary cut to business rates, up to £110,000, for a further year which can include grassroots music venues.